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HomeMy WebLinkAbout760128.tiff RESOLUTION RE: APPROVING THE TENTATIVE LOCATION OF MONITORING, SAMPLING, INJECTION AND RECOVERY WELLS OF WYOMING MINERAL CORPORATION IN CONNECTION WITH DEVELOPMENT STANDARD 18 (c) OF THE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS ON WYOMING MINERAL CORPORATION SPECIAL USE PERMIT. WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners have previously granted a Special Use Permit to Wyoming Mineral Corporation for the purpose of conducting solution mining tests on the following described real estate, to-wit: A t:act of land situated in the F.'p of Sec . 24 , TI0N, R62W of 6th P .M. , Weld County, Colorado, with considering the east line of Sec. 24 as being N 00 °58 ' W and with all bearings contained herein relative thereto is contained within the boundary lines , which begin at a point which bears N 27 °06 ' 30"W 3065 . 77 ft . from the SE corner of said Sec. 24 and runs thence N34 °12 ' 10" W 278 . 40 ft. ; then N 43 °57 ' 40" E . 893 . 83 ft. ; thence S 46 °33 ' 30" E 202 . 02 ft. ; thence S13 °28 ' 15" E 426 . 86 ft. ; thence S84 °13 ' 40" W 453 . 02 ft . ; thence S 43 °25 ' 25" W 377 . 33 ft . to the point of beginning containing 7 . 4725 acres more or less . WHEREAS, Sheet No. 3 has been submitted by Wyoming Mineral Corporation under Development Standard No. 18 (c) , which displays the tentative location of all monitoring, sampling, injection and recovery wells within the Special Use Permit area, and WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners has studied said Sheet 3 , and deems it appropriate to approve and authorize the Chairman of the Board to sign said Shett No. 3 . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Com- missioners of Weld County, Colorado, that Sheet No. 3 as submitted by Wyoming Mineral Corporation, under Development Standard No. 18 (c) in connection with the Special Use Permit granted to Wyoming Mineral Corporation for the conducting of solution test mining on the above-described real estate, be and hereby is , approved and the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners is directed to sign said Sheet No. 3 and said Sheet No. 3 is directed to be re- corded with the County Clerk and Recorder of Weld County, Colorado. 760128 The above and foregoing Resolution was , on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 29th day of November , A. D. , 1976 . BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WELD COUNTY, COLORADO '1� ( -t- ATTEST: 7111C177 1-✓cn.v"-t F%A2t "'"ea J Weld County Clerk and Recorder and Clerk to the B and Deputy County' Clerk APPROV AS TO FORM: . 7 County Attorney STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH September 10, 1976 In the Matter of the Application ) of Wyoming Mineral Corporation to , ) Operate a Subsurface Disposal System) PERMIT FOR SUBSURFACE Upon and Under a Tract of Land ) DISPOSAL IN CONNECTION Containing 7. 4725 Acres More or ) WITH SOLUTION MINING Less in the E z of Section 24, ) TEST ACTIVITIES Township 10 North, Range 62 West of ) the 6th P. M. in the County of Weld , ) State of Colorado. ) 1. The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission (the "Commission") has found , after proper notice, public hearing, due consideration and acting pursuant to Subsection 505(1) of the Colorado Water Quality Control Act Sections 25-8-101, et seq. , C. R. S. 1973 (the "Act") , and the Rules for Subsurface Disposal Systems (the "Rules") adopted by the Commission under the Act , that the activities of Wyoming Mineral Corporation ("WMC") involved in WMC 's solution mining test, as proposed in WMC 's application and technical support appendix , which constitutes subsurface disposal , conform to and comply with the provisions and requirements of Sub- section 505(1) of the Act and Subsection 3 (b) (2) of the Rules ; namely, that the pollution will be limited to waters in a specified limited area from which there is no risk of significant migration and that the proposed activity is justified by public need. 2. The Division of Administration of the Colorado Department of Health (the "Division") hereby grants to WMC a permit for the construction and operation of a subsurface disposal system as authorized by Subsection 505(2) of the Act and Subsection 3 (d) of the Rules subject to the conditions set forth as follows : (a) The construction and operation of WMC's solution mining test facilities (the "System") and appurtenances shall conform to the practices and procedures proposed in WMC 's application and technical support appendix under the Rules, filed with the Division on May 6, 1976, except as modified by paragraph 3 of this permit. (b) This permit for injection and solution mining is limited to that formation identified as the Grover Sand in the application and technical support appendix. Any material deviation in procedures or equipment from that outlined in WMC 's application and appendix referred to above shall require the prior concurrence of the Division. (c) This permit shall be effective as of October 1, 1976 , and shall be valid for a period of one year, unless the Division shall, in writing, extend such final date. (d) Employees of the Department of Health and Department of Natural Resources shall be allowed access to the site as provided for in CR51973 ,25-8-306. Any failure to permit such access shall be a violation of this permit. (e) This permit shall not be assigned without prior written approval of the Division. (f) All applicable rules, regulations and orders of the Commission shall be observed and complied with by WMC at all times. (g) This permit shall in no way be construed to relieve WMC from complying with the applicable requirements and regulations of other State and Federal regulatory agencies, including the Occupational and Radiological Health Division of the Colorado Department of Health. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to relieve WMC from the observance of, performance of, or compliance with any conditions, duties, or obligations imposed by any order, permit or license issued by any agency of the State of Colorado. (h) Operations of WMC under this permit shall be subject to all such orders and regulations as the Division may reasonably issue, from time to time, for the prevention, abatement , and control of pollution to the waters of the State, as authorized by the Act and the Rules. 3. The Division, in the interest of permitting the operation of a test plant for in-situ uranium mining (the "Test") for the purpose of gathering information with which to evaluate full scale in-situ uranium mining, and concurrently, protecting the State 's waters, imposes the -2- following technical conditions to modify the practices and procedures proposed in the application, (a) At least 10 days in advance of the commencement of the drilling of any baseline sampling, monitoring, injection or recovery well drilled, from time to time hereafter , by WMC in conjunction with the Test, WMC shall submit to the Division for its review and approval a tentative well location plan to a scale of 1 inch to 50 feet, indicating the approximate location of such well. (b) At least 72 hours prior to final well drilling and completion of any well specified in 3 (a) , WMC shall notify the Water Quality Control Division and the Water Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and provide the Divisions the opportunity to witness and inspect the well drilling and completion activities. (c) For each completed well , WMC shall submit in duplicate a well completion report including the following: 1. Lithologic log, geophysical log, and total depths. 2. Type of completion: perforation, open hole, screen. 3. Casing : size , type, grade, weight, setting depths. 4. Tubing/packer (if applicable) : size, type, name, model, setting depth of packer. 5. Cement: class/type volume used. Describe and give per- cent of all cement additives and slurry weight. 6. Cementing technique: pump and plug displacement through casing is recommended to cement from the top of the respective aquifer to the surface. 7. Cementing equipment : guide shoe, float collar, plugs , basket, etc, or equivalent. 8. Casing Centralizers : location and spacing. 9. Diagrammatic sketch of each type of well completion used. (d) Following completion of wells WMC shall submit to the Division, in duplicate, a final well location plan as in paragraph 3 (a) above, indicating final surveyed locations of such wells. (e) A minimum of 24-hour pumping test of the mineralized zone shall be conducted prior to the injection of chemicals to determine boundary conditions and any hydraulic interconnection of the Grover Sand , Porter Creek and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. The Fox Tills well to be used -- in this test shall be located per paragraph 3 (i) oelow. Results of the pumping test shall be provided to the Division with conclusion and recommendations , substantiated by a mutually acceptable , independent consultant at least one week prior to the planned injection of chemicals . If the conclusion is that interconnection between aquifers does exist, injection of chemicals will not be authorized and shall not proceed until the interconnection is eliminated as required by the Division. (f) Injection of chemicals shall be by gravity feed. WMC may determine the fracture potential of the Grover Sand and the strata overlying the Grover Sand. If found to be adequate to withstand in- jection under greater pressure ; the Division, upon petition by WMC , may authorize an appropriate injection pressure . (g) A map (scale 1" 50 ' ) indicating all exploration tholes of record in the expected zone of mining influence shall be submitted to the Division. Prior to the injection of chemicals , WMC shall purge the Test field by pumping formation water into the injection wells at a pressure not to exceed 1S0 psi at the bottom of the injection well for a period of 24-hours . The water purge test shall be designed to detect any weeping at the surface which may re- sult from incomplete exploration holes . All discovered leaks shall be plugged. (h) In addition to the monitoring wells in the mineralized zone, the Test monitoring system shall include at least two shallow monitor wells to be completed to the bottom of the first aquifer over- lying the mineralization aquifer. In the plan view , these wells shall be completed within the zone of mining influence defined as the expected flow lines of leach solution from the injection to recovery wells . Location of monitoring wells to be subject to approval of the Division. (i) The Test monitoring system . shall further include at least two (2) deep monitor wells . One well to be completed to the bottom of the first aquifer immediately underlying the mineralization zone , and the other monitoring well to be completed through the first aquifer of the Laramie-Fox Hills formation. The location of the monitoring wells shall be approved by the Division prior to construction . These monitoring -4- wells shall be cored to obtain representative core samples from the aquifer being monitored as well as the interval or zone immediately above the aquifer being monitored. These monitoring wells shall be logged prior to completion. Coring and logging information will be furnished to the Division in duplicate. (j) WMC shall further include at least one deep characterization well through the Laramie-Fox aquifer in a plan view location outside the area of mining influence and outside the area defined by the test monitor wells that are completed through the mineralization zone. The deep drill hole shall be cored to obtain representative samples and logged prior to completion as is necessary to characterize the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer and the integrity and thickness of the interval between the mineralization zone and the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer. (k) Prior to injection of chemicals, water quality characterizations shall be established for the mineralization zone, -the first overlying, the first underlying and the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers and for all monitor wells , as defined in Table 1 and Table 2 below. These characterizations shall be established by sampling the completed monitor wells or designated sampling wells. To obtain a valid sample the well shall be pumped until water is produced that is essentially free of mud and foreign material and is essentially of a quantity that evacuates the calculated volume of original free standing water in the well casing. Further, characterization sampling (at least 4 samples) should span a period of time as long as practicable prior to injection of chemicals, and multiple analyses should be run of each sample to qualify variabilities. Water quality characterizations of the Laramie- Fox Hills aquifer shall continue during testing. The characterization of the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer shall include continuous pressure monitor- ing as is reasonably required by the Division. TABLE 1 Water quality characterization for mineralization zone, the first overlying and underlying aquifer above and below the mineralization zone, and for the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer. -5- i A series of natural groundwater samples shall be taken before chemical injection commences to establish baseline values for at least the following parameters ; Alkalinity, Total, as CaCO3 • Boron Aluminum Cadmium • • Ammonia Calcium Arsenic Carbonate, as CaCO3 Barium Chloride Bicarbonate, as CaCO3 • Chromium Specific Conductance • Selenium • Copper • Silica • Fluoride Silver • Iron Sodium Lead TDS Magnesium • Sulfate Manganese Vanadium •• Mercury • Zinc Molybedenum Uranium Nickel Th230 •• Nitrate, as N Ra226 pH Gross Alpha Phosphorus Gross Beta • Potassium pb210 TABLE 2 Monitor Well Water Quality Baseline and Sampling A monitor well water quality baseline for each monitor well consisting of the below listed parameters will be established as a point of reference for surveillance purposes. Ammonia • • Chloride ▪ Hardness • TDS • Uranium Water Level (1) Water Quality characterizations shall be established for reference water wells defined by WMC as "environmental" wells. The en- vironmental well water quality baseline shall be established on the basis of parameters identified as significant from the mineralization zone water quality baseline list above (Table 1) . Accordingly, by definition, mineralization zone sampling must be initiated first. At a minimum the baseline assays for environmental wells shall consist of the following: Alkalinity Phen (as CaCO3) • Nitrate (as NO3) Ammonia PH Bicarbonate (HCO3) Sodium Carbonate Sulfate Chloride TDS Fluoride Uranium Hardness (as CaCO3) Gross Alpha ▪ Iron Gross Beta • Magnesium Ra226 -6- , (m) Monitoring parameters are as specified in Table 2, in paragraph 3 (k) , above, All monitor wells shall be monitored for these parameters on a weekly basis commencing with the first day of injection. A report illustrating the results of each such monitoring well since the last report will be sent to the Division in duplicate the first week in each month, except in the event of a significant change in one or more of the monitoring parameters (a change unaccountable for by natural variability or sampling error) , In the event of such a significant change, the Division shall be notified immediately. (n) In the event that a significant change occurs in a monitor- ing parameter, as described in paragraph 3 (m) , above, WMC shall immediately commence daily sampling, If the trend continues for seven (7) consecutive days, WMC shall begin taking corrective action immediately and provide a description of the corrective action procedures to the Division. (o) Restoration parameters shall be based on the results of site-specific groundwater analysis. Restoration to within 10 percent of the average initial pretest water baseline value will be the standard for restoration for TDS. When this value is achieved and the quality of the groundwater within the mineralized zone with respect to the para- meters set forth in Table 1, above, has been restored to a condition approximating average baseline conditions, the groundwater shall be considered restored, Accordingly, to accomplish this objective WMC shall, prior to injection of chemicals (except as provided below in conjunction with restoration testing) provide the Division with a written restoration program which: 1. Decribes the restoration procedures proposed ; 2. Documents the effectiveness of the proposed restoration procedure; and 3. Provides a restoration schedule. It is recognized that initial in-situ test data of quantities larger than core samples are desirable to identify such restoration procedures. Therefore, WMC shall run a series of chemical slug tests to obtain the desired information, Such slug testing is defined as injecting leach chemicals into no more than two (2) different recovery wells as identified for the proposed Test to allow leaching for a calculated radius not to exceed 10 feet in any one direction from that well, at which time the -7- well will be pumped to remove the effected volume of water. WMC shall , nn the basis of this removed solution conduct restoration testing. On the basis of these test results WMC shall submit the written program as described above within two (2) weeks of injection of chemicals into injection wells. During the period of evaluating the slug test solutions, the slug test hole shall be monitored weekly and these results provided to the Division. The restoration program shall be subject to approval by the Division before proceeding with injection and production of the test facilities. In the event that any term or condition contained in paragraph 3 of this permit is found to be in conflict with WMC 's application, which is incorporated herein by this reference, the terms and conditions of this paragraph 3 shall govern. (4) No solid waste shall be disposed of at the test site and no liquid waste either directly or by surface water runoff from the test site shall be allowed to flow to the Crow Creek drainage. (5) As a requirement in the issuance of this Permit, and as a condition for its continued effectiveness, WMC, acting as Principal there- under shall furnish, within twenty (20) days after the issuance of this Per- mit or before construction, which ever shall first occur , one or more good and sufficient Performance Bonds in the amount of not less than seventy five thousand and no/100 ($75, 000) dollars , with corporate surety approved by the State, whereby said Principal and Surety shall bind themselves, their successors and assigns, jointly and severally, to the Colorado Department of Health for the use and benefit of the Division of Administration for the faithful performance of restoration work in accordance with paragraph 3 (o) of this "Permit for Subsurface Disposal In Connection with Solution Mining Test Activities" as the undertaking of Principal under said bond. Said obligations under this bond shall con- tinue for such time and under such conditions as imposed by the Division for satisfactory completion of the restoration program. BY ORDER OF THE DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE COLORADO DE- PARTMENT OF HEALTH THIS . /- DAY OF OCTOBER, 1976 . By / 'i , ///�/ii IL, Y -B- , Hello